Burned

The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite

A riveting political thriller from the journalist who covered the controversy for more than two years, Burned is the inside story of the shocking scandal that brought down a government.

One of the most shocking scandals in Northern Irish political history: originally a green-energy initiative, the Renewal Heat Incentive (RHI) or 'cash-for-ash' scheme saw Northern Ireland's government pay £1.60 for every £1 of fuel the public burned in their wood-pellet boilers, leading to widespread abuse and ultimately the collapse of the power-sharing administration at Stormont.

Revealing the wild incompetence of the Northern Ireland civil service and the serious abuses of power by some of those at the head of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which would go on to prop up the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson and a major factor in the Brexit negotiations, this scandal exposed not only some of Northern Ireland's most powerful figures but revealed problems that go to the very heart of how NI is governed.

©2020 Sam McBride (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd

Excellent investigate journalism

Sam McBride’s book is a clear, in-depth, and hard-hitting exploration of the cash for ash scandal. McBride eschews facile explanations and simple narratives, instead constructing a nuanced, believable, and shocking picture of systemic and personal failures. There’s no need for readers to be from or have a in-depth understanding of Northern Ireland to enjoy this book.

Sam Beckett Couldn't Dream This Up

The island of Ireland is made of a million iceberg tips. A book 1,000 hours long couldn't find the bottom. After listening to Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, I was looking for a book post-Troubles and this was perfect. The image of a heating radiator installed on the outside of a building wall will stay with me.